Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has assigned newly appointed Lt. Gov. Jay Collins to travel to California to extradite an illegal alien who is accused of causing a crash last week on the Florida Turnpike near Fort Pierce that killed three people.
According to officials, Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant, attempted a U-turn on Aug. 12 in a highway zone marked “official use only,” triggering a collision in which a minivan struck his semitruck.
All three minivan passengers, a 30-year-old man from Florida City, a 37-year-old woman from Pompano Beach, and a 54-year-old man from Miami, were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. After the crash, Singh flew back to California from Florida.
Records from the San Joaquin County Jail show that Singh, who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in 2018, is being held on a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and faces three counts of vehicular homicide.
Singh was denied a work authorization permit from the first Trump administration in 2020, according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.
“During [the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s] interview with the driver, investigators administered an English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessment in accordance with FMCSA guidance,” the Department of Transportation said in a statement. “The driver failed the assessment, providing correct responses to just 2 of 12 verbal questions and only accurately identifying 1 of 4 highway traffic signs.”
At a Wednesday press conference at Palm Beach State College, DeSantis criticized the fact that Singh was able to obtain commercial driver’s licenses in Washington and California despite reportedly lacking English proficiency and an adequate understanding of U.S. road signs.
“That was obviously a total disaster,” DeSantis said. “Should have never obviously been behind the wheel.”
“We’re going to throw the book at him when he gets back here,” he added.
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